Progressive Workers' Party (Uskad)
Progressive Workers' Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PWP |
| Leader | Kekelina Pelita |
| Deputy Leader | Tekelata Humalina |
| First Secretary | Henedi Kurmaniasyah |
| Governing body | Federal Executive Committee |
| Founded | 1 December 1961 |
| Merger of | |
| Headquarters | Kelinasta Tower, 23 Susilman Blvd, Tehumyas, SCT SC72182 |
| Newspaper | The Progressive and Socialist |
| Think tank | Sutikno Institute |
| Student wing | PWP Students |
| Youth wing | Young Progressives & Socialists |
| Women's wing | Organisation of Women in the PWP |
| Trade union affiliate | National Congress of Uskadian Trade Unions |
| LGBT wing | LGBTQIA+ Progressives |
| Membership (2024) |  821,296 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left to left-wing |
| International affiliation | Progressive Alliance |
| WMCA Assembly group | Socialist Group |
| Slogan | Building Uskad together. (2024) |
| Parliament | 272 / 560
|
| State parliaments | 291 / 850
|
| State and territorial governments | 9 / 17
|
| WMCA Assembly (Uskadian seats) | 19 / 53
|
| District and local councils | 7,890 / 26,271
|
| Website | |
| pwp.org.ud | |
The Progressive Workers' Party is a major centre-left and social democratic party in Uskad and is one of the three major political parties in Uskad, along with the centre-right Conservative and Nationalist Party, and Initiative. It has been the main governing party of the country as part of a coalition with Initiative since 2019. It was founded in 1961 as a merger between the Progressive Party and the Socialist Workers' Party. On the state and local level, the PWP controls 9 out of 17 state and territorial governments and control most local councils.
The party originated from the merger of two political parties, the centre-left Progressive Party, and the trade unionist Socialist Workers' Party. The merger originated from the idea of forming a united party of the Left in Uskad, in response to the rise of the Conservative Nationalist Party, which had increasing electoral successes against the then ruling Uskadian Democratic Revolutionary Party. The parties merged in 1961, at the first taking the name of Socialists, Workers' and Progressives Party, before adopting its current name in 1963.
Under the leadership of left-wing trade unionist leader Sutikno, the party had increasing electoral successes in the 1960s and 1970s, though fortunes waned in the late 1970s and 80s due to the relative popularity of the ruling CNP under then-Prime Minister Letena Sutana, which caused internal party infighting and CNP dominance in elections. After further electoral defeats in the late 80s and early 90s, Ruben Sasanta took over the party and began shifting party ideology to the centre-left, and took inspiration from Bill Clinton's New Democrats and Tony Blair's New Labour.
The PWP won a surprise landslide in the 1999 general elections, and Prime Minister Sasanta began major reforms in the country, and won further elections in 2004 and 2009, and was succeeded by Talin Jemenak, Uskad's first female Prime Minister. She shifted the party further to the centre, and led the party to defeat in the 2014 general elections. Later, under the leadership of left-wing populist William Sarbalsta, the party formed a coalition with Initiative, from which it has governed since 2019.
The PWP is currently the largest party in the Parliament of Uskad, and in most state parliaments. The party main base in the state of Kartarajasa-Sentika, which is the most populous state in the country. In the WMCA Assembly, it is a member of the Socialist Group. The party has central control over its state branches, except for one in the state of Llynwynfa. As of 2024, it has over 800,000 members.
History
Origins
The main predecessor party of the PWP, the Socialist Workers' Party, was established in 1936. It was an initiative of various Uskadian trade unions, to represent the political interests of the Uskadian labour movement and achieve Uskadian independence. It first competed in the 1944 general election, where it recieved 42 seats. Later, it achieved increasing electoral success, solidifying its presence in the industrial cities of Uskad. In the 1949 general election, it sent 67 MPs to Parliament. In 1950, the party formed its first provincial government in the province of Kartarajasa. In 1956, it elected popular and charismatic trade unionist Darsono Wibisono as its leader. In 1954, it achieved 82 seats, and was popular with Native Uskadian and Javanese workers.
During this time, a split from the URDP, the Progressive Party, was formed. It was formed from the left-leaning faction of the party, and led by notable Sundanese Uskadian politician Rachel Uyah. It was formed from 4 MPs of the URDP, and had a progressive and liberal orientation. Uyah later led the party to electoral success in the 1959 general elections, where the party sent 16 MPs to Parliament. The SWP also achieved its best results, recieving 91 MPs. The URDP lost their majority in this election. Later in 1960, Uyah and Wibisono agreed on a merger agreement, and the two parties merged, forming the Socialists, Workers, and Progressives Party. The party later changed to its current name in 1963.
Early years and time in opposition (1961-1999)
The party became Official Opposition in 1964, when the Conservative Nationalist Party under the leadership of Hendra Tirto, won the election in a landslide and formed the Government. Also during this time, the PWP elected Sutikno as its leader. A charismatic Javanese trade union leader who was able to compromise with the middle-class, he was known for his intense criticism of the the Tirto government,
He was popular with the working class electorate, but was unpopular with the progressive membership due to his perceived inability to modernise the party platform, which contributed to electoral stagnation in the 1970s to the 1990s. Sutikno resigned after the disastrous results in the 1979 general election. He was replaced by progressive reformer Ganla Lekeni, who intended to soften the party's working-class image, but damaged the party's standing among the working class voters.
He was later replaced by in a leadership challenge by Lekara Sekrin, who only served for more than less than one year. Sekrin focused on uniting all factions of the party, but lacked charisma and authority to do so, and was later replaced by Gena Supaka, who also focused on uniting the PWP, and later modernised the party's structure. Despite increasing voteshare of the PWP, he was perceived as unable to break the electoral dominance of the CNP, and was later replaced by a young MP, Ruben Sasanta in 1995.
He ordered an extensive rebranding of the party, and utilised the increasingly corrupt reputation of the CNP and their disastrous handling of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. During the 1999 general election campaign, he launched the party's campaign, Fairer Uskad for All. The party under Sasanta, focused on themes of hope and unity, and PWP adverts at the time portrayed Sasanta as a trustworthy alternative to the CNP government. The PWP also utilised grassroots groups which proved to be successful in urban areas. The party later won the 1999 general elections, achieving a sweeping 110-seat majority, and forming its first government.
In government, under Sasanta and Jemenak (1999-2014)
In opposition (2014-2019)
Return to government and further infighting (2019-present)
Ideology
The party sits on the centre-left, but is a broad collection of various tendencies of socialism, ranging from traditional socialists to progressive social democrats.